Grey’s Anatomy Season 23 Episode 3 Review: It’s All Wrong, but It’s All Right

Alexis Floyd delivers an unforgettable performance on Grey’s Anatomy Season 23 Episode 3, “It’s All Wrong, but It’s All Right.”

After making the decision to have an abortion, Simone is back at work with an attentive Bryant by her side. Immediately, she seems weaker, and it’s clear something isn’t quite right. When she starts to faint, Bryant and Jules are both there to catch her, and Simone trusts Jules to perform an ultrasound. 

Simone doesn’t want to involve more people at work than she has to, but Jules discovers something odd on the ultrasound. Meanwhile, Jo has arrived at the hospital for a meeting so that she can formally resign, but Jules begs her for help before she does. 

It turns out, as Jo reveals, that Simone was never truly pregnant. Instead, she had a molar pregnancy, and now needs a DNC. The emotions of those revelations are played perfectly by Alexis Floyd.

Not only is she processing the fact that she had agonized over carrying a baby that was never actually there, but now she’s afraid of having this procedure done.

Just as they’re about to put her under anesthesia, Simone panics. She can’t stand the thought of it, and her reaction is visceral. It comes from the fact that her mother died in childbirth, and Jo quickly realizes that allowing Simone to be awake during the procedure could be the solution.

That moment is a turning point for Jo, because it reminds her how good she is at this job. It’s not only her skill, but also her understanding of her patients. She’s clearly struggling with her own trauma the entire time she’s helping Simone, but she sets them aside. And despite her difficulty, she’s confident in what she’s doing.

It shows an incredible level of growth for Jo, and it’s possible, considering the conversation she has with Link at the end of the episode, that she’s going to try to continue to practice medicine. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Seth Norton and VIP floor provide more controversy, this time, in relation to Benson Kwan.

Norton has hired Kwan back at the hospital, due in large part to Bailey’s influence. However, it’s not an easy transition. Richard requests that Kwan be on his service, and then tells him his only assignment is to tend to a patient on the VIP floor. Richard says he is not, under any circumstances, allowed in an OR. 

Well, we know what that means, and it’s not hard to predict how this will pan out. 

Kwan’s VIP patient winds up needing emergency surgery, and despite Norton’s ridiculous complaint that Kwan had been yelling on the VIP floor, when it comes time to help the patient, he’s clearly right for the job in that moment.

Norton also insists that Kwan scrub in on the surgery, which puts Kwan in a precarious position. Both Norton and Webber are his superiors, and Kwan doesn’t want to go against Webber, but Norton is the chief of surgery now. There’s also no time to waste when it comes to helping the patient, and Richard isn’t currently reachable. 

Richard’s reaction to finding Kwan in surgery feels far too over-the-top, honestly. While it’s understandable for him to be hard on Kwan, his reaction is a bit out of character, and it seems like in addition to having lost faith in Kwan, he’s also taking out his frustrations about Norton on him. 

There’s obviously going to be an uncomfortable power struggle, and Kwan is going to be caught in the middle. 

Other thoughts:

• Even though it’s tough to watch, the family drama between Amelia and Lucas adds a really interesting layer to their characters. I hope we see some of that continue, and it’s exciting to think about Lucas going into neurosurgery like Amelia and Derek.
• Link’s struggle with his painkillers is building up subtly, which I appreciate. It also makes me very, very nervous.
• The timing of a Dolly Parton impersonator almost feels eerie. That episode had already been written before Dolly Parton died, and according to an interview with Meg Marinis, they were in the middle of shooting this episode when the news broke of her death. The title of the episode, which is a Dolly Parton song, had also already been decided.

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Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.

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